C++

If I aspire in making games, is C++ the way to go?  It just confuses me to see how much it supposedly sucks, and then gets used left and right in the gaming industry.

Also, since /prog/ apparently hates IDE's, and I somewhat agree since the last time I tried using one I got some bloated, shiny, gradient filled abomination, what DO I use?  I tried CodeBlocks after my last encounter, and it looked good in comparison.  What says anon? Acceptable, or kick CodeBlocks to the curb, and start anew?  Note that a code filled notepad the size of godzilla does not look too good.  But hey, what do I know.

>>1 If I aspire in making games, is C++ the way to go?
Yeah, I guess so. Depending on the sort of game you want to make, and whether you want to work on it with other programmers.

Emacs.

>>2
I see... So, if I wanted some generic 3D MMO or something, I'd have to go C++.

On the other hand, what if it was some simple text-ish game with pictures here and there, akin to visual novels?

>>3
You can't write a "generic 3D MMO" in any language. You have no fucking clue how much those four words can possibly involve.

Text-based games are intrinsically less computationally expensive, so the C++ performance argument falls through, leaving you with no real reason to use such a broken featureless shitpile. Use a functional language instead.

>>3 if I wanted some generic 3D MMO or something, I'd have to go C++.

Sort of. The barrier to entry would be lower with C++, since there are many game engines you could use as-is. Other languages might require writing your own interface to an existing engine, or writing your own. Plus, if you were looking to work with others, you would probably have an easier time finding C++ programmers who want to make 3d games than finding programmers for some other language.

what if it was some simple text-ish game with pictures here and there, akin to visual novels?

Anything.

By which I mean, literally, anything. If you're thinking of interactive fiction, there are languages designed especially for it. I can't recall whether any of them support displaying images. This might require hacking together your own game engine.

But if IF is what you're thinking of doing, take a gander at
http://www.lisperati.com/casting.html
for an intro to how you might do it. Also see the ports to  Ruby, Haskell, and Turkish.

>>4
Alright, thanks.
I had been recommended VB as a start before, y/n?  Or Lisp, which I see thrown around everywhere on this board.

I do have an inkling on the mmo part though. Tried making one using GML. Obviously, I would rather die before making another attempt without help, and GML was on a simple pre-made program with goddamn drag and drop.

Anyways, I learn C++ should I want a team and a big project, and ______ for a small visual novel, since I'm more on the art design part than programming in the first place.  Will do.  Thanks, honestly I've never gotten more out of the first 2 posts on any of the imageboards before.

>>5
Oh hey, didn't even see this.
Alright, guess I'm saging or something since I pretty much got everything I need.

C++ isn't that necessary for PC games anymore.  There are some Java 3d libs like jMonkeyEngine that I've used that are plenty fast and I'm sure similar stuff exists in other languages.

The only reason C++ is traditionally used for games is because it translates directly to machine code and thus can be made very fast (and also makes it very fiddly, brittle, and horribly manual to work with).  However, the majority of processing time is probably going to be spent in the video card, not in your game code, so it doesn't matter if your game language has inherent overhead that makes your life simpler in exchange.

BTW, tons of these "C++" games actually implement scripting engines that most of the game content is actually written in.  This trend is over a decade old.  So just use an existing language with easy-to-use features instead of C++ and save yourself all that effort.

>>8
Get the fucking fuck away from my fucking /prog/.

>>8
You toy language fags are so wise, yet unemployed.

>>9,10
I suspect >>1 and >>8 are the same people, and we have been trolled constantly.

Use Emacs you queer.

>>8
>The only reason C++ is traditionally used for games is because it translates directly to machine code

Holy shit you have no idea what you're talking about.



Hint: C++ is not assembly language, you fuckstick.

i just got dev-c++ with allegro. it's pretty fucking easy to use, took me about an hour to get working and i'm a complete noob...

Why doesn't someone just make a non-shitty language, or a language you can  construct yourself?

>>15
You mean Lisp? I dunno.

>>13
Unless I'm missing something, >>8 is correct, and in fact most compilers (well, visual c++ anyway) converts your c++ source into assembly source, which then gets passed to the assembler and then linked to the final binary.

>>17
You mean it compiles to native code? How unusual. That doesn't mean it "translates directly to machine code".

>>17

Converting C++ automatically into intermediate assembly code and in turn translating with an ASM back-end line-for-line to binary processor instructions isn't what I'd term direct, at least in any sense not overlooking the basic idea and purpose of a high-level language. C++ doesn't have direct parity to basic processor instructions and the accuracy of the translation rests on the compiler.

Although in reading up more on the Just-In-Time / VM / bytecode shitfest that is Jave, I'll admit that wasn't entirely wrong in some sense.

>>17
>>18
>>19
It depends on the constructs you use as well. A for(){} loop, simple arithmetic, pointers, and so on, can be expected to turn into machine code similar to what you might write by hand. Fancy stuff (insofar as C++ has any fancy features), not so much.

Firstly, sorry for the tl;dr post.

>>1
That depends. Do you already know how to program?
If you are already reasonably experienced in at least one other language (though, the more languages you know, and by know, i mean that you understand and can use most of the languages features and can write large programs in said language, the better) then, yes, you should now learn C++.

If you do not already know another language (ie, you are asking if you should learn C++ as your first language), then I would say NO, do not learn C++ (not YET), learn another language first and practice writing games in that language first (you will not NEED C++ until you want to get a job anyway, nothing you do on your own will require C++). Though /prog/ will hate me for suggesting it, I'd say start with Python (pygame can be used to create a window, input, 2D bitmapped graphics and pyopengl can be used for 3D graphics).
This means you can learn programming concepts (and game programming concepts, which are somewhat different from "normal" programming) wihtout worrying about low level crap like memory management. Anything you learn in Python can be carried over to C++ later and you can even use Python as a scripting language from within a C++ program when the time comes (or write extensions for Python in C++, if you so prefer).

If you already know another language, but not very well, then you may as well stick with that language instead of learning a new one. Do what I suggested in the previous section, only with whatever language you have been learning, instead of Python.

>>3
If you have to ask, then you are NOT ready to write an MMO of any kind PERIOD. In fact, if you didn't have to ask, you would know that even with a ton of cash and an experienced team, the odds are against you. It takes experience (In the order of many years), money (not entirely true, Eternal Lands managed with minimal financial resources, but I'd say thats the exception, not the rule), a team of programmers/artists/designers/musicians/testers and a lot of time.

>>4
The performance argument breaks down regardless because no matter what a beginner writes, they are not going to benefit from C++. Either their games will simply not benefit from the performance (because they don't do enough to make it noticeable) or the beginner programmer will simply write inefficient C++ code and negate the perceived higher performance of the language ebcause it is much easier to write low performance C++ code than high performance since an inefficient algorithm will run slow regardless of the language and it takes experience to learn to improve algorithms.

Don't call me gay, but I need some mary jay!

Marijuana MUST be legalized.